After a season of using him conservatively, Warriors finally let McDonald cut loose

Quarterback Cole McDonald had played three series in the game, had run three times and had yet to attempt a pass when a voice from the Utah State side of the line of scrimmage posed a question that University of Hawaii fans were long thinking.

“Do you ever throw the ball?” an Aggies linebacker inquired in the penultimate game of last season.

The answer from McDonald would eventually be “Yeah, sometimes, when they let me.”

Until Saturday’s season-opening victory at Colorado State the question of whether McDonald, who authored just nine passes in six games as a redshirt freshman in 2017, could pass hung over his candidacy for the starting quarterback job.

But it was soon rendered a non-issue in the first half of a 43-34 victory during which McDonald completed 15 of 19 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

For the game he completed 70 percent of his passes (26 of 37) for 418 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Far from being a one-trick pony, McDonald has brought a well-rounded skill set that has allowed the ’Bows to widely expand their offense, and become a hybrid run-and-shoot with diverse running elements.

In this unveiling, the Rams turned out to be exhibit “A.”

“I’m super impressed with the McDonald kid and what (head coach Nick Rolovich) has him able to do for their offense,” said Ken Niumatalolo, head coach of UH’s Saturday’s opponent, Navy. “He passes for 400-something yards and three TDs, runs for almost 100 yards and couple TDs. He’s just, really, an impressive kid.”

With a 6-foot, 4-inch, 205-pound frame and sprinter’s speed, McDonald has both the size and burst to play the twin roles.

Niumatalolo said, “What Rolo has done is he’s got all of his run-and-shoot stuff, but he’s added on with some quarterback reads, zone reads, quarterback counters and even some run-pass-option stuff. He’s got all of June (Jones’) stuff and added much more to it.”

The Utah State linebacker wasn’t the only one last season who wondered if McDonald was ever going to pass. When their son had authored just four passes in his first five appearances of 2017, even McDonald’s parents were asking why he didn’t pass more.

After all, he had thrown for 2,313 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior at Sonora High School in La Habra, Calif. with a better than 60 percent completion percentage.

He told them he simply executed what the coaches called for him. And, employed in mostly mop-up situations to run out the clock, that meant running the ball, something as a 100- and 200-meter sprinter in high school he also had the ability for, in averaging 8.6 yards a carry for UH.

In fact, despite the limited appearances and carries (16), he managed to be the ’Bows’ third leading rusher in 2017 with 138 yards.

Unleashed in an offense that can showcase his abilities, maybe what McDonald demonstrated at Colorado State shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as it seemed.

”He’s invested so much work in preparing himself that you hoped (something like this) would happen, that he would make great decisions and plays,” Rolovich said.

Given the opportunity to finally be himself on the field, McDonald has run — and, yes, passed — with it.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.